This invention relates in general to wireless communication systems and equipment, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for realizing a prescaler suitable for use therein.
Prescalers are well known and have found their way into many applications in wireless communication systems and equipment. The flexibility desired in modem wireless communication systems has created a need for a prescaler having a multi-modulus divide ratio to achieve a wide range of operating frequencies. Furthermore, the increasingly higher transmission frequencies of modern communication systems have strained the speed limits of prior-art prescalers. In addition, battery life considerations together with stringent size requirements for portable communication devices have brought about an emphatic need for low power consumption.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus for realizing a prescaler that can provide an easily controlled multi-modulus divide ratio and operate at frequencies beyond one GHz, while consuming little power.